The title of the song has multiple variations, including The Coo-Coo, The Coo-Coo Bird, The Cuckoo Bird, and The Cuckoo Is A Pretty Bird.[2]

Lyrics usually include the line (or a slight variation):

The cuckoo is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies; she brings us glad tidings, and she tells us no lies.[2][3]

According to Thomas Goldsmith of The Raleigh News & Observer, "The Cuckoo" is reportedly descended from an old folk ballad; it's an interior monologue where the singer "relates his desires — to gamble, to win, to regain love's affection."[4]

The song is featured in the E.L. Doctorow book, The March. A soldier suffering from a metal spike stuck in his head sings verses from the song.